An insult coined by Miami lawyer and anti-videogame crusader Jack Thompson to describe gamers who fought back against his attempts to ban violent games. While intended as an ad hominem insult, some gamers have taken the mantle on proudly as "pixelantes".

Believed to be a portmanteau derived from "pixel", a reference to videogame graphics, and "vigilante".

Originally, a term coined by Jack Thompson, referring to members of the internet-based gaming subculture who have taken it upon themselves to take action against him for his harassment of Mike Krahulik, the artist from the webcomic Penny Arcade.

The term has since been reclaimed by two designers at Straight Loop, who have made a tshirt design based on the word.

"Several weeks ago some gamer idiot (sorry to be redundant) managed to email me thousands of death threats from a blast e-mail service based in Ireland using the following e-mail address: georgewbush@whitehouse.gov. The Secret Service shut that pixelante right down."